Obstacles to Getting Ahead

How Assimilation Mechanisms Impact Undocumented Mexican Immigrant Families

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8072046
AutoresMartica L Bacallao, Martica Bacallao (autor de correspondencia), Paul R Smokowski
Año2013
Volumen28
Número1
Páginas1-20
Fecha de publicación2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Work in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1937-190X • E-ISSN: 1937-1918
EditorialHaworth Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1080/19371910903269687
PMID23369018
OpenAlexW2017817051
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas19

This study explores the roles played by U.S. schools, workplaces, churches, and peers in the acculturation process of immigrant adolescents. Qualitative interviews were conducted with members of 10 undocumented Mexican families (12 adolescents and 14 of their parents) who had immigrated within the past 7 years. Results indicated that assimilation was prompted by two powerful mechanisms: monolingualism and discrimination. Monolingualism and discrimination in interpersonal interactions and social policies directed Mexican adolescents and their parents to learn English and to conform to host culture norms, appearance, and behaviors to advance in school and in their work. These assimilation mechanisms contributed to female adolescents' and parents' feelings of anxiety and depression. Male adolescents reported feeling angry and ready to physically defend themselves. Mexican families found a refuge from assimilation stress in church. Churches valued biculturalism and religious faith was used to handle daily assimilation stress. Implications for social policy were discussed

Acculturation · Assimilation (phonology · Biculturalism · Coping (psychology · Cultural assimilation · Developmental psychology · Faith · Feeling · Immigration · Interpersonal communication · Neuroscience of multilingualism · Political science · Qualitative research · Sociology · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Clinical Psychology · Social Psychology